The federal government will attempt to make the process for international students to become permanent residents easier, immigration minister John McCallum announced March 14.
McCallum said he plans to launch talks between the federal and provincial governments to reform the Express Entry program, which favours skilled workers over foreign students when selecting candidates for permanent residency.
“International students have been short-changed by the express entry system,” McCallum said at a press conference. “They are the cream of the crop, in terms of potential future Canadians.”
According to Matthew Watt, a licensed immigration consultant with law firm Canadian Immigration, one of the existing problems for graduating international students is that they aren’t able to earn enough points to compete against other immigrants.
Points are based on factors including level of French and English fluency, education, work experience, age, and whether they have employment arranged.
Watt said flaws in the system arose when the Conservative government tied the Canadian Experience Class system to the points-based Express Entry system in January 2015.
He said most students apply for permanent residency through the Canadian Experience Class system. Previously, students had a clearer path to residency as applications were considered in the order of when candidates applied instead of by awarding points.
“So long as you met selection criteria, there was a pretty good chance you were going to receive your permanent residency,” Watt explained. “Then with Express Entry, that sort of turned everything upside down, and it sort of pitted Canadian experience class candidates against federal skilled worker candidates.”
According to Usha George, a Ryerson University professor researching immigration policy, helping international students achieve permanent residency not only benefits those students, but also Canada as a whole.
“International students who are educated in Canada actually gives us a real sort of pathway into having the required human resources,” George explained. “These student pay an enormous amount of money to become Canadian graduates—so considering we need more resources, it’s only fair we give them the opportunity.”
George said the length of time it takes to process applications and unfair competition within the system are the two most common complaints she hears from students trying to become permanent residents.
In 2015, Canada had 336,000 international students across all levels of study, according to the Canadian Bureau for International Education. Fifty-one per cent of these international students plan to apply for permanent residency.
Watt said Canada has always stood apart from other countries such as the United States in the way it provides access to citizenships for students.
“Students are sort of an immigration life blood, and something Canada does really well is retaining the talent that we educate,” he said.
Watt said while he anticipated a reform coming, he was surprised by the government’s choice to prioritize the matter.
He said the specific reform that the Liberals can implement could either be separating the Canadian Experience Class from the Express Entry system, or awarding students points for their post-grad work permit so they can compete more evenly with skills-based applicants.
